The Benefits of Preschool: Do Children Who Attend ...

[Pages:29]The Benefits of Preschool: Do Children Who Attend Preschool Prior to Kindergarten Achieve Higher Test Scores

Julie Harrington Southern Wesleyan University Action Research II EDUC 5463

August 15, 2015

PRESCHOOL: IT'S NOT THE INCOME BUT THE OUTCOME THAT MATTERS 2

Correlation between Preschool Attendance and Test Scores

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine what, if any, impact that attending a four year old kindergarten program had on five year old kindergarteners reading ability as measured by Dominie testing, compared to those five year olds who did not attend a four year old program at Inman Elementary School. The significance of this study was to not only determine if there is a difference in aptitude and ability in the area of basic reading skills, concepts about print, but to find the strengths in the curriculum content taught in our preschool program at Inman Elementary School. The researcher strived to use the information gained through this study to build a more comprehensive curriculum for the four year old program and promote progress in school readiness. There is a great deal of money, time, and effort put into these preschool programs nation-wide. Is it worth it? Are the results truly showing a benefit or is just an academic daycare at its best?

Keywords: preschool, Read to Succeed, South Carolina, reading skills, testing

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5

PRESCHOOL: IT'S NOT THE INCOME BUT THE OUTCOME THAT MATTERS 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Statement of the Problem

4

Significance of the Study

4

Purpose Statement

5

Justification of the Research

5

Deficiencies in past Research

5

Importance of the Findings of This Study

6

Research Questions & Hypotheses

6

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

7

No Child Left Behind Act

7

Research-Based Education

7

Accountability of a Preschool Program

8

Preschool and Literacy Development

10

Reaching Families at Risk

13

Benefits for the Children, Families and Schools

13

METHODS

15

Participants

15

Research Design

15

Validity

15

Terminology

16

RESULTS

17

Correlation Scores for the Dominie Test, The Show Me Book 17

DISCUSSION

21

Hypothesis Restated

21

PRESCHOOL: IT'S NOT THE INCOME BUT THE OUTCOME THAT MATTERS 4

Overall Significance of the Study

23

Conclusion

24

WORDS CITED

25

APPENDICES

Appendix A

Research Proposal

26

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Figure 1

Figure 2

Table 4.1 Table 4.2

Progressing from preliteracy skills to

11

reading comprehension via two

simultaneous pathways.

Relationship of inferencing to vocabulary 12

depth, story comprehension, and school

talk.

Scores on the first 9 weeks testing of The 18

Show Me Book

Scores on the second 9 weeks testing of 19

The Show Me Book

PRESCHOOL: IT'S NOT THE INCOME BUT THE OUTCOME THAT MATTERS 5

Statement of the Problem

On April 2014, Governor Nikki Haley signed into law the "Read to Succeed" legislation which is designed to allow South Carolina families access to a preschool program. Many families were missing out on the advantages that are afforded by this program because they have previously only been offered in the private sector. The ultimate purpose behind this bill was to insure that at-risk students receive as much help as possible in reading instruction in this early formative time. Haley hoped to see fewer children reaching the third grade unable to read and then having to be retained.

This bill raised hopes that preschool can and will make a difference in reading abilities, but the question still exists, does a four year old kindergarten program make a difference ? Are the benefits of a preschool program worth the expenditure of time, money and workforce that will be spent on these programs?

Significance of the Study

The significance of this study was to not only determine if there is a difference in aptitude and ability in the area of basic reading skills, concepts about print, but to find the strengths in the curriculum content taught in our preschool program at Inman Elementary School. The researcher strived to use the information gained through this study to build a more comprehensive curriculum for the four year old program and promote progress in school readiness. Due to new testing standards it is essential that the students be prepared for the educational challenges that these students face.

PRESCHOOL: IT'S NOT THE INCOME BUT THE OUTCOME THAT MATTERS 6

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine what, if any, impact that attending a four year old kindergarten program had on five year old kindergarteners reading ability as measured by Dominie testing, compared to those five year olds who did not attend a four year old program at Inman Elementary School.

Justification of the Research

The teacher researcher had taught the four year old preschool class at Inman Elementary School and then looped with the same four year old class to kindergarten the next school year. Her experiences motivated this study to not only document if the benefits can be seen in scores on the Dominie test but to also refine the curriculum taught. The researcher has personally undertaken the goal of improving and challenging the instruction in IES' preschool and primary reading program.

Deficiencies in Past Research

In the past few years expanding preschool programs to become more worthwhile and educationally sound has been debated in the local and national educational sector. It has become a more widely accepted practice to send children to an educational preschool rather than just a social play-day facility. Articles have been written and discussions made about this topic, but only a few studies have been done to actually document the specific differences on a test that measure the concepts about print between the students who have attended a preschool and those who have not. The researcher wanted to take it a step further and actually compare the students in her class that have or have not participated in IES' program.

PRESCHOOL: IT'S NOT THE INCOME BUT THE OUTCOME THAT MATTERS 7

Importance of the Findings of This Study The researcher's goal behind implementing this study was to be able to present them to

the principals and teachers at IES for consideration of further achieving a more refined and enhanced curriculum. The goal of the preschool program being to not only prepare these four year olds for kindergarten but to promote and enhance reading concepts and skills that will be beneficial in the following years. Research Questions and Hypotheses

The questions which the research intended to address are: 1. Do kindergarten students who attended Inman Elementary School's four year old kindergarten program achieve higher scores on the Show Me Book test? 2. Do kindergarten students who have not attended Inman Elementary School's four year old kindergarten program achieve higher scores on the Show Me Book test? 3. Do all five year old kindergarteners preform equally well on the Show Me Book test? 4. Does the level of parental involvement make up for a lack of preschool attendance?

PRESCHOOL: IT'S NOT THE INCOME BUT THE OUTCOME THAT MATTERS 8

Chapter 2

Review of Literature

No Child Left Behind Act

Today in American society a great deal of importance has been placed on high performing test scores and quality education programs. It has become the goal of all educational institutions that all children have access to a quality educational program, one of these being a preschool program. The No Child Left Behind Act has been proposed to provide all children with an equal opportunity to obtain and participate in a high-quality education that encompasses these four aspects (NCLB, 2001). The NCLB Act has stressed accountability to ensure that students who are at an economic disadvantage can achieve academic proficiency, and provided flexibility that allows school districts the opportunity to spend their federal funding in the way that they deem most effective and efficient. Other aspects of the NCLB Act are research-based education that emphasizes educational programs and practices that have been proven effective through research, and parent options that increases the choices available to the parents of students attending a Title 1 school. This law was implemented in 2002 and has since been a source of debate as to how to fulfill these guidelines.

Research-Based Education

The No Child left Behind Act instructs educators to provide an educational program that has been scientifically shown to be effective based upon relative data. Protheroe (2006) confirms that research tends to indicate that a prekindergarten experience does positively impact preschool students' abilities to begin kindergarten with an advantage. School readiness, which is a huge factor in successful learning, via a quality preschool program can pay off in long-term

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